Isaiah 36:12

Isaiah 36:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
• New International Version (NIV)But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

Context of Isaiah 36:12

10You should also understand this: It was the Lord himself who commanded me to bring my army here and attack Jerusalem. He said to me, “Attack this country and destroy it!” ’ 11Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the leader of the Assyrian army, ‘Please sir, speak to us in the Aramaic language. We can understand it. Do not speak to us in the Hebrew language, because all the people who are on the wall of the city will understand it.’ But the Assyrian army leader replied, ‘My master did not send me here to give this message only to your king and to you. The men who are sitting on the city wall also need to hear my master's message. Like you, they will soon have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine.’ 13Then the Assyrian army leader stood there and he shouted in the Hebrew language, ‘Listen to this message from the great king, the king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says to you: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot save you from my power.

Isaiah 36:12 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר רַב־שָׁקֵ֗ה הַאֶ֨ל אֲדֹנֶ֤יךָ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲדֹנִ֔י לְדַבֵּ֖ר אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה הֲלֹ֣א עַל־הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ עַל־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה לֶאֱכֹ֣ל אֶת־צוֹאָתָ֗ם וְלִשְׁתּ֛וֹת אֶת־מֵימֵ֥י רַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם עִמָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But Rabshakehרַבְשָׁקֵהrabshâqêh · RabshakehH7262
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Hath my masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• and to thee to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• these wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• to the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• that sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• upon the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• that they may eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• their own dungצֹאָהtsô'âh tsô'âh · filthH6675
• their own dungחֶרֶאchere' chărîy · dungH2716
• and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• their own pissשַׁ֫יִןshayin · urineH7890
• their own pissרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• their own pissמַיmayim · waterH4325

Cross-references for Isaiah 36:12

• Isaiah 9:20People eat whatever food they can get, on their right side or their left side. But they are still hungry. They even eat their own family!
• Leviticus 26:29They will be so hungry that they will eat their own children.
• Deuteronomy 28:53When that happens, you will have no food, because your enemy's soldiers are all around your town. You will be so hungry that you eat your own children. Those are the sons and daughters that the Lord your God has given to you.
• 2 Kings 6:25As a result, there was a famine in the city. The Syrian army were all around the city for a long time. Food in the city was very expensive. A donkey's head cost 80 pieces of silver. A small cup of dove's dung cost five pieces of silver.
• 2 Kings 18:27But the Assyrian army leader replied, ‘My master did not send me here to give this message only to your king and to you. The men who are sitting on the city wall also need to hear my master's message. Like you, they will soon have to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine.’
• Jeremiah 19:9Enemies will make their camp all around the city, so that they can kill the people who live there. The people will not have any food to eat. They will be so hungry that they will eat their own children and they will eat each other.”
• Daniel 4:9I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar you are the leader of my wise men. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know that no secret is too difficult for you to explain. Here is the dream that I saw. Tell me what it means.
• Ezekiel 4:16Then God said to me, ‘Son of man, I will soon take away the bread in Jerusalem. The people will have to measure the food that they eat. And they will have to measure the water that they drink. They will worry and be afraid.

Commentaries on Isaiah 36:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12That they may eat their own dung "Destined to eat their own dung" - לאכל leechol, that they may eat, as our translation literally renders it. But the Syriac reads מאכל meechol, that they may not eat, perhaps rightly, and afterward ומשתות umishshethoth, or ושתות ushethoth, to the same purpose. Seventeen of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., ten of De Rossi's and two of my own, read מימי meymey, the water; mine have שניהם מימי meymey sheneyhem, and write in the margin…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee? - To Hezekiah, and to you alone. A part of my purpose is to address the people, to induce them to leave Hezekiah, and to offer no resistance to the Assyrian. To the men that sit on the wall … - The meaning of this is, that the inhabitants of the city, if they do not surrender, will be subjected to the severest evils of famine. If they did not surrender, it was the purpose of the Assyrian to lay siege to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-22The Assyrian chief of staff tried to use intimidation to negotiate a peaceful settlement. In his first speech (Isaiah 36:4–10), he correctly argued that Egypt could not rescue them but incorrectly accused Hezekiah of misplaced trust in the Lord. Interestingly, the Assyrian did not view the contest as between the gods of Assyria and the Lord, but rather between Sennacherib (the great king) and the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Is it to thy master and thee that I am sent? Nay, it is to the men on the wall, to let them know (so far am I from wishing them not to hear, as you would wish), that unless they surrender, they shall be reduced to the direst extremities of famine in the siege (2Ch 32:11, explains the word here), namely, to eat their own excrements: or, connecting, "that they may eat," &c., with "sit upon the wall"; who, as they hold the wall, are knowingly exposing…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 36:12

• Diplomacy
• Siege

In the dictionaries

• Destroy
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Rabmag
• Sennacherib
• Bible, the
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Dung; Dung Gate
• Hezekiah (2)

Commentaries on Isaiah 36

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings